Microsoft has stopped its cloud and AI services for a part of the Israeli military as it found out that its products were used to spy on Palestinians. These operations are carried out on a massive scale. An investigation is ongoing, but Microsoft’s other contacts with Israel remain unchanged. So, what were they spying on exactly? What was Israel’s reply to the Microsoft Services halt? Were these services used directly to harm the public? For all the information, learn more.
What Happened?
- According to reports by The Associated Press (AP) and The Guardian:
- The Israeli military was using Microsoft Azure and Microsoft’s AI for cloud computing.
- These tools were later used to collect, translate, and analyse phone calls and text messages of Palestinians (in a spy kind of way).
- Moreover, this is the same data that Israel used to plan the airstrikes and carry out military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
Which Part of the Israeli Military Was Involved?
- It’s the unit that’s called Unit 8200 (it’s one of the prominent cyber warfare groups).
- This is the same unit that is known for secret intelligence gathering, surveillance, and cyber operations.
- Therefore, the unit is linked to multiple Azure subscriptions through Microsoft’s services.
What Did Microsoft Know and Do?
- Microsoft knew about the situation in May 2024. It admitted that it sold AI and cloud services to the Israeli military.
- However, Microsoft’s version of the story only helped the military in rescuing hostages. And it affirmed that its tools weren’t used to directly harm people.
- Once The Guardian report came out in August 2024, Microsoft became cautious and hired an outside law firm to review the case.
- Soon, the investigation confirmed that Microsoft’s tools were violating its own terms of service.
How Big Was the Surveillance?
- Around the time Hamas attacked Israel (around or after October 7, 2023), Microsoft products were widely used by the military.
- It is found that huge amounts of cloud storage and AI language translation services were used.
- It is so vast, say the systems were gathering and analysing millions of calls per day.
- And some of the surveillance data was stored in Microsoft cloud centres in Europe as well.
What’s Still Ongoing?
- Microsoft’s outside law firm’s review is ongoing.
- The company didn’t specify exactly which unit it blocked access to.
- And most importantly, the Israeli military is yet to respond to the situation.
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